I'm a Nice Guy
by flyingwargle
Summary: After practice one evening, Lev asks the most important question of the day: Is Kuroo a nice guy? His upperclassmen decide to answer and humor him with their answers in order to determine the answer.
1. Nekoma

Another evening of practice had ended for the Nekoma Volleyball team. As always, Kuroo led his teammates in a round of thank-yous for their coach and teacher before ordering them to begin putting everything away. Kuroo hurried after Coach Nekomata as he walked toward the entrance of the gym to leave. "One minute, Coach! I've a request."

The elderly coach turned to face his captain. "Yes, Kuroo?"

"Do you think you can arrange a practice match with Karasuno this month?" Kuroo asked. Nekomata's narrowed eyes wasn't convinced the request was simply that. "Consider it my birthday present. It'll be the last one before I graduate."

It was a team tradition to celebrate the captain's birthday either by surprising him with a party or fulfilling one wish he had. He only wanted this practice match to see how their rival's middle blockers were shaping up. During the training camp, he had given Tsukishima more than enough pointers and advice to teach the other middle blockers. Not to mention, Karasuno overall was a bag of tricks waiting to surprise everyone who crossed their paths.

Nekomata blinked thoughtfully at him, expression contemplative. "I'll think about it. Karasuno should be pretty busy with their own matches and practices. If they can fit it in and if _we_ can fit it in, then you'll have your practice match."

"Thank you very much!" Kuroo bowed at him in a show of gratitude. He turned quickly to help Inuoka put the net away, leaving his coach staring after him.

On the other side of the court, Lev was taking the pole out from the gymnasium floor, having had watched the entire exchange from his vantage point. "Kuroo-san seems like he's a nice guy, right?" he remarks, turning to look down at his teammates for their opinions. Snickers and hidden smiles answered him.

Nobuyuki was smothering a smirk, kneeling down to retrieve stray volleyballs to toss to Yaku so the first-years could dry mop the floor. "He may _seem_ like a nice guy," he said, pausing to glance at him, "but it can go both ways. We don't really mention it."

"Oh, so it's like we never really mention how short Yaku-san is," Lev said. He let out a yelp and flinched, hands flying to the spot on the back of his head where the libero threw the volleyball at him. Nobuyuki rolled his eyes and tossed the volleyball back to him.

"Kuroo-san always have a scheming face on him, anyway," Yamamoto added, dry mop in hand. "Even though he doesn't actually _do_ any scheming. That's all on Kenma."

"What do _you_ think, Kenma-san?" Lev asked, noticing their setter walking by with volleyballs in his arms. "Do you think Kuroo-san is a nice guy?"

Kenma started, surprised by the question. A volleyball bounced onto the floor, rolling toward Yaku, who promptly picked it up and rolled the bin toward him. "Uh…I guess…" he mumbled, turning away to avoid looking at him.

"You're always with him though," Lev pointed out, approaching him to tower over him. "He should've done something nice for you at least once or twice, right?"

Before he could answer, Kuroo shouted at them. "Hey! Let's hurry up and finish putting everything away so we can go home!" he called out. He turned at the sound of footsteps, a smile creeping onto his face as they grew louder. "Looks like we've got visitors."

"Kuroo!" Bokuto flew into the gymnasium, his bag landing onto the floor with a loud thud. Approaching more cautiously behind him was Akaashi, expression unamused and almost embarrassed that his captain would so casually fly into another team's gym without warning.

"What are you doing here, Bokuto?" Kuroo asked, letting his friend shake his shoulders until he was slightly dizzy. "You can help us clean up if you're here."

"It's almost your birthday!" Bokuto shouted enthusiastically. "Let's go celebrate!"

"It's _almost_ my birthday. That doesn't mean _today_. Akaashi, can you get him off of me?" Kuroo turned his head in the direction of the vice-captain, who was entering the gym as slowly and delicately as possible.

"Bokuto-san, you're too loud," Akaashi said to him, loud enough for him to hear. "At least help them put the equipment away before you celebrate." He raised his head at Kuroo. "There's something I have to ask you anyway."

Bokuto released his friend and sauntered over to the rest of the team, who were rolling the net up to put away. "Here, let me help!"

"We can do it, Bokuto, thanks," Yaku said hastily, remembering the last time he had tried to help them. It didn't end well. "What did you want to ask Kuroo?"

"Akaashi wouldn't tell me," Bokuto answered, crossing his arms against his chest. "He said I wouldn't understand." Yaku wondered exactly what that would entail. He wasn't sure of Bokuto's academic strengths but judging by his simple-mindedness on the court, there would be a lot of things he would choose not to understand.

Lev emerged from the equipment room, noticing Bokuto. He jogged toward him. "Bokuto-san! What are you doing here?"

"Hey! It's you! Tall guy! What's his name again?" he murmured to Nobuyuki. The vice-captain whispered the name to him. "Lev? Oh, yeah! Lev! And Kenma!" he spotted the small setter behind the first-year.

"Why are you here?" Kenma asked, words lost in Lev's louder question.

"Do you think Kuroo-san is a nice guy, Bokuto-san?" Lev asked him. His teammates exchanged looks with each other, wondering what the answer would be.

Bokuto appeared to consider the question seriously, his eyes distant and thoughtful. "Sure," he answered after a pause.

 _That's it?_ Dismay was written on all of the Nekoma boys' faces. _"Sure"?_

"Well, it depends, right? He didn't throw me out of the gym, right? So that means he's a nice guy, right?"

"I don't think that really counts…" Yaku pointed out, scratching the back of his head.

"There was this one time he was _really_ nice. It was almost kind of scary." A wide grin was on his face as he was about to reveal the tale. "We were hanging out one time when-"

"Bokuto!" Kuroo shouted from the other side of the gym. "Akaashi is going to take you home now."

"What? What about our celebration? I have money to buy you ice cream!" Bokuto flew across the gym to reach them, voice loud and indignant. "We do it every year! Let's celebrate! Let's go, let's go!"

While Akaashi told his captain to be quiet or be dragged out of the gym forcibly, Yaku became thoughtful, wondering if there ever was a time in the years he had known Kuroo when he was nice to him or someone else. "I think there is one time when Kuroo did something nice to me…"

"Really? Tell us!" Lev prompted. He nudged Kenma. "Kenma-san, you should tell us too! Think about it!" Kenma turned away, muttering beneath his breath.

Yaku glanced at their captain, who was currently speaking to Akaashi and ignoring Bokuto. "It was last year after school, I think. Kenma wasn't there because he was sick at home so practice was canceled and we were in the club room…"

* * *

Happy birthday, Kuroo! This is going to be a four-shot in order to determine if Kuroo really is a nice guy. Inspired by that one part in the manga and my sister's prompts. Enjoy!

 **Haikyuu! does not belong to me. I am merely a fan.**


	2. Yaku

Practice after school was canceled that day because Kenma was at home sick playing video games and the gym was closed for maintenance. That left the club room empty since there would be no point for any of the members of the club to be there. That was what Yaku anticipated anyway.

He wasn't sure why he chose the club room instead of any washroom but it offered more privacy than a regular washroom would. The mirror came in handy for moments like these. He stepped in front of it, double checking the door was closed and the curtains were drawn. He blinked at himself, ruffled his hair a bit to get it back in place, and blinked again. He was about to turn around and leave but he couldn't. It was the perfect opportunity to do this yet he couldn't get himself to.

 _You read your compositions aloud all the time,_ he scolded himself. _This is exactly like that…except this isn't homework._ He cleared his throat, looking away at his blushing reflection in the mirror. "So, I was wondering…do you want to spend the day with me…?" _Like, doing homework?_ He could hear a response in his mind. He tried again. "…Go to the bookstore with me?"

"Of _course_ I will!" Yaku froze at the high-pitched mocking tone emitted by someone very familiar. "Who wouldn't want to go out with you?"

"Y-Yamamoto! Wh…what are you doing here?" he whirled around, brandishing his curled-up notebook in his hand. The team's ace was standing at the doorway laughing loudly, blocking Nobuyuki from entering the room. "Why are _you_ here? There's no practice today!"

"I forgot my jacket here," Nobuyuki said from behind Yamamoto. He nudged him forward to allow him passage into the room. "What about you, Yaku? That didn't sound like homework to me."

"Because it…it isn't..." Yaku turned away, hoping to hide the blush in his cheeks from his teammates.

Unfortunately, Yamamoto saw it and walked toward him, slapping his shoulder. "Who's the lucky girl, huh?" he asked, shaking him feverishly. "You practicing your pick-up lines for her? When are you going to ask her out? Fill us in, Yaku-san!"

Yaku wished he was in the washroom instead. At least there he wouldn't run the risk of encountering his teammates. He looked helplessly at Nobuyuki but the vice-captain looked curious to know as well. He sighed and stepped away from Yamamoto. "Don't…don't tell Kuroo, okay? She's…in our class…"

"Oh, _her_?" Nobuyuki knew who he was talking about despite being in a different class. He thought about it for a moment, thinking the two of them were a good match.

"Who? Who?" Yamamoto grew still as Nobuyuki whispered the name into his ear. He folded his arms as he tried imagining them together. "Yaku-san, do you only like her because she's shorter than you?"

"No!" Yaku threw his notebook at him. It wasn't as painful as a volleyball so Yamamoto merely swatted it aside and laughed aloud. "Why do you even know her anyway? She isn't in your year!"

"I know _all_ the girls in this school," Yamamoto said somewhat proudly. He was grinning. "She's pretty and, you know, pretty short. No wonder you like her. Now you can finally look down at someone."

"Shut up!" Nobuyuki held back the libero as he seized his bag and prepared to throw it at Yamamoto. Height had always been a taboo subject for Yaku. Yamamoto loved teasing him for it as a result.

"Why don't you want us to tell Kuroo?" he asked, once the libero and ace cooled down a bit. Yaku was gathering his things together and Yamamoto was sitting on the floor cross-legged.

"Because he's going to make fun of me for it," Yaku answered, "and probably talk me into asking her before I'm ready."

"What, are you planning to woo her over with your impressive volleyball skills?" Yamamoto asked. He picked up the notebook Yaku had thrown at him and started flipping through it. "Damn, Yaku-san, you can impress her with your homework instead."

"The thing is, she's smart and doesn't like sports," Yaku continued, turning to Nobuyuki. "So…I don't know what to ask her to do with me. I thought the bookstore would be a good idea, but…she probably wouldn't want to waste time doing something she won't like."

Nobuyuki stared at the wall thoughtfully. He didn't know her personally but he had seen her several times when he had stopped by their classroom to talk to Kuroo. He had seen her doing her homework mostly, or studying, or eating her lunch, or looking at her phone. Her quiet personality and intelligence were qualities that made Yaku attracted to her in the first place, not to mention her height. Anyone shorter than Yaku who wasn't a first-year made him feel superior but that didn't seem to be the case now. " _Are_ you planning on asking her soon?"

"Not…soon, but…well, before the end of the year," Yaku admitted. "Do you think the bookstore would be okay? Maybe she would say yes to having lunch with me, if I'm lucky. I'm lucky if she says _yes_ in the first place."

"Why wouldn't she? You're a good person overall and the height difference between you two isn't significant…not that it matters," Nobuyuki added hastily when Yaku glared at him. "If she says no, ask her to help you with your homework. At least then you can spend time with her."

Yamamoto rolled the notebook up and used it to gesture at Yaku. "You know, none of this would help if you chicken out of asking her out. You should tell us when you're going to do it so we can watch."

"Why do you want to watch?" Yaku asked in alarm. "It's…it's not a big deal. It's just a…a friendly outing. Not a date. Be quiet, Yamamoto."

Their ace laughed, a mischievous expression on his face. "I bet Kuroo-san will be able to help you out better than Kai-san. He probably went out with girls before."

"Speaking of Kuroo, where is he?" Nobuyuki asked, glancing at Yaku.

He shrugged. "He said he was going to bother Kenma." The younger setter was sick but no illness was going to stop him from playing video games.

"No, I'm still here." Yaku froze at the lofty deep voice that could never be mistaken for anyone else. Kuroo sauntered into the club room, surveying each member of his team. He was still in his school uniform, the same as the rest of them, his hands in his pocket, and hair seemingly untouched from this morning. "Why?"

Yaku was about to hastily answer but then Yamamoto cut him off. "Yaku-san has a crush on a girl."

"Oh?" Kuroo smirked. "Really? Who's the lucky girl? Wait, don't tell me. I know who it is."

"You do?" Yaku was appalled. He knew he should've told Yamamoto to close the door behind him. Kuroo could've been eavesdropping on them the entire time waiting for the right time to step in.

"Of course. The two of you make a good pair. Maybe you can finally put your arm on her shoulder and not feel awkward about it." To demonstrate, Kuroo placed his arm on Yaku's shoulder. It lasted a second or two before he danced away, avoiding Yaku's wild swing in his direction. "Miracles do happen, Yaku. Don't miss this chance."

"Yeah, I know," Yaku muttered. "You don't have to tell me."

"What did you say?" Kuroo asked loudly. Yaku merely looked away, embarrassed. "When are you going to do it?"

"Not soon," Yamamoto answered for him. Yaku was about to shout something indignantly at him but Kuroo interrupted.

"Well, well...I never thought Yaku would be embarrassed to ask a girl out," Kuroo remarked. "You can receive Bokuto's spikes most of the time and get good grades, but asking a girl to the bookstore isn't something you can do?"

Yaku was certain Kuroo had been eavesdropping on them. Dejectedly, he said, "Yeah. So what?"

A light nudge on the shoulder and a devious smile answered him. "Don't worry. I'll handle this."

That was the last thing he wanted to hear. "Kuroo, I can do this on my own-"

"Hey, I'm a nice guy. Consider this me helping a teammate out." Kuroo grinned at him. It was the grin of evil, of a cat about to pounce on its prey. "You'll be thanking me when everything turns out all right."

Yaku wasn't sure if he should believe his captain's word or not. Kuroo was someone who kept his promises most of the time but he had been dubbed as the "Scheming Captain" for a reason. He wondered briefly if he should consider not coming to school tomorrow. "What do you _really_ want, Kuroo? Something in exchange?"

"No. No, of course not. We're good friends, right? I'm helping you as a friend. Since you're too scared to ask her, I can do it for you. She and I are on good terms anyway. If not, someone else might steal her from you." Kuroo grinned at him. Yaku wondered if he was referring to himself. His captain nudged him on the shoulder encouragingly before turning to leave. "Come to school tomorrow. You'll see for yourself." He sauntered out of the room whistling a tune under his breath.

"Kuroo-san's got this," Yamamoto said in his wake. A similar grin was on his face. "You're going to get your girl, Yaku-san." Nobuyuki grabbed his jacket from where he left it on the shelf and gestured for Yamamoto to stand up and leave.

"I don't know…I have a bad feeling about this," Nobuyuki said. "Kuroo _is_ a nice person but his niceness can vary from person to person. We'll just have to see what he does."

That was true. Yaku zipped his bag closed and shouldered it. If Kuroo really did keep his word then he could potentially have a chance at spending the day with the girl he liked. He was entrusting his future with his captain, it seemed.

* * *

Yaku was almost late to school the next morning. It wasn't because he didn't want to know what Kuroo was scheming but because he didn't hear his alarm. He ran the entire way to his classroom, sliding the door open in a smooth motion, stumbling inside. "Good morn-"

No one was seated, despite the bell having had rung several seconds before he entered the room. A lone poster was taped to the chalkboard, the class crowding around it to examine it. The girls were staring at him, the boys were snickering at him, and Kuroo was at his seat, a familiar smirk on his face. _Oh, no_ , Yaku thought. _What did I let Kuroo do?_

"Hey, let me through." His classmate granted him passage to the other side of the room so he could take his seat. He caught a glimpse of the poster out of the corner of his eye and he stopped. He shoved his way through until he was face to face with it.

Typed in a bold font was: "YAKU WANTS YOU" at the top of the poster. The focus image was him in that ridiculous pose from his first year in the club when Kuroo managed to get some news reporters to write an article about them for their magazine. The reporters had asked them to pose for individual photos and he had been dared by Kuroo to do a stupid pose. Fortunately, Yaku retained a copy of Kuroo's photo so he can blackmail him later.

"Nice poster, Yaku," one of the boys sneered behind him. "It definitely doesn't show how short you really are."

Yaku fought the urge to whirl around and attack his classmate. Some of the girls were starting to crowd around him, singing their praises to him. It had never been a secret that was part of the volleyball club. They didn't have to make such a big deal out of it now.

Worst of all, the girl he had a crush on never looked his way once.

After school, he headed toward the club room without waiting for Kuroo, ignoring Nobuyuki on his way as well as Yamamoto. He needed a few minutes to plot his revenge against Kuroo for this. He was glad Kuroo hadn't printed out more copies and posted them around the school. That would force him to transfer elsewhere, probably to Fukurodani. _That_ would upset Kuroo the most.

"Yaku-san! W…Do you have a minute?" he froze at the voice calling out behind him. He turned his head slowly to look over his shoulder, looking away immediately as the girl approached him. A folded piece of paper was in her hand, her glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. He was taller than her by a few inches and he tried to act nonchalant without flaunting his height.

"Uh…sure. What do you…want to talk about?" he asked, turning to face her. Her head was bowed to avoid his eyes. Her hands were trembling slightly from nervousness.

"Um…Tetsuro gave this to me." She unfolded the paper. He grimaced when he saw the ridiculous poster open in front of him. _Damnit, Kuroo,_ he thought to himself, _how can you be on a first-name basis with her? That's not fair at all._

"He gave it to me…and told me to talk to you," she added. "Um…so what do you…want to talk about?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, well…" Yaku scratched the back of his head. He considered lying. He considered making up an excuse. Anything to put off his true intentions to a later time. _Kuroo did all this for_ you _,_ he reminded himself. "Uh…I was wondering…if you'd…go…go to the bookstore with me?" he asked in a rush.

She blinked in surprise, straightening a bit by the sudden request. "Huh? Right now?"

"Well, uh…not…not right now. I have…practice. But…but we can go when…on Sunday?" he cursed himself inwardly for being so tongue tied. How could a simple question be so difficult to ask?

"Oh, okay. Sunday. That's fine with me. Then…do you want to study afterwards?" she asked. "But…if you have practice then we don't have to…"

"We don't have practice on Sunday." He hoped Kuroo would let him off the hook this one time. "I'd love to. Let's meet here and we can go together."

"Okay. Sure. Thanks, Yaku-san." She was blushing but her smile was enough to make Yaku lose his focus for a second.

"Morisuke. Uh, you can call me Morisuke," he said hastily. She glanced at him, gave him a small shy nod. She walked in the opposite direction as he hurried down the hallway, doing his best to contain his excitement until he arrived at the club room.

As he marched down the stairs, he couldn't stop from grinning. He owed Kuroo a favor. Although the stupid poster was forever going to be imprinted in the minds of his classmates and be used to tease him until graduation, he succeeded in getting her to go to the bookstore with him.

Now, all was left was to find the photo of Kuroo and have it ready when he needed to blackmail him in the future.

* * *

Special thanks to my sister for giving me this idea. I left the identity of his crush as it is so you can imagine yourself as her...but it was written for someone in particular in mind. You know who you are.

Part three is about Kenma and will be uploaded in two weeks' time. I'm sorry to drag this so long but being in the mood is more difficult than I thought.

Thanks for reading!

 **Haikyuu! is not mine. I am merely a fan.**


	3. Kenma

"And? And? Are you her boyfriend?" Lev asked excitedly. The boys had relocated to the club room to change and leave. Kuroo had gone ahead to help Akaashi get rid of Bokuto, entrusting his bag with Kenma. Said second-year was tying his shoelaces together.

Yaku shook his head, zipping his jacket up. "We're good friends but we don't call each other that."

"Where's the poster now?" Inuoka asked.

Yamamoto took it out from the drawer and passed it to them before Yaku could grab it. Inuoka glanced at it briefly before Lev snatched it, standing so Yaku wouldn't be able to take it. "'Yaku wants you'," he read aloud. "Why did Kuroo-san write that?"

"It's still a mystery." Nobuyuki smiled. "I'm going to head out first. Have a good evening, guys." His teammates chimed their farewells at him as he walked out, closing the door behind him.

Yaku jumped, missing the poster by an inch. Lev held it over his head as he turned to Kenma. "Did Kuroo-san do anything nice to you, Kenma-san?"

"No," he mumbled. His eyes were glued to his phone screen, watching the loading circle spin to connect to his game. He left his handheld at home because he didn't feel like doing more training but now that he had to wait for Kuroo to come back, he needed something to do to kill time.

"Really? Not ever? You're always with him! Aren't you two best friends?" Inuoka asked.

Kenma shrugged. Friends, yes, not exactly _best_ friends. They had grown up together, played volleyball for a long time, and were usually found by each other's side, if not with Bokuto. Maybe Kuroo _had_ done some nice things for him but over the years, the line between _nice_ and _joking_ was very blurred.

"Does Kuroo-san ever help you with your homework? That's being nice, right?" Lev asked.

As it was, Kenma had better marks than Kuroo. The only time Kuroo had helped him was when he looked over the worksheets he had to do and say something unhelpfully like _I remember going this_ or _have fun with this._ Kenma shrugged again.

"Do you think Kuroo-san is a nice guy? Like a really, really nice guy?" Inuoka asked. "Helping Yaku-san go on a date with that girl was nice of him…even though he humiliated him too."

Yaku succeeded in recovering the poster by throwing a stray volleyball at Lev and plucking the paper from his hand when he cowered and lowered his arms to protect himself. "Well, there was that one time Kuroo bought a game for him," he said. "You better tell them so they'd stop bothering you, Kenma."

Their setter sighed and exited the game. He raised his head to look at the first-years, their expressions eager to hear another story. "Kuro bought me a game once," he mumbled, "because of something he did…"

* * *

The boys hadn't slacked in putting the equipment away after practice so they were changing in the club room almost right after they were dismissed. Kenma, who was usually one of the last to leave because of Kuroo, was out the door before the third-years could take their clothes out of their bags.

"Hey! Kenma! Where are you going?" Kuroo called out to him as Kenma slid the door open to leave. His friend turned to look at him over his shoulder. This wasn't the first time Kenma had left before him. It had been going on for at least two weeks now.

"Home," he replied. "There's something I have to do…"

"At least wait for me. I'll be with you in a second!" Kuroo hastily changed, saying his good-byes over his shoulder as he hurried toward Kenma. "What's the rush? Planning to catch the early train?"

Before Kenma could reply, another voice interrupted him. "Kenma-kun! There you are!" it was a girl, probably a second-year like him, still dressed in her school uniform. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and she was jogging toward them. Yamamoto had stuck his head out through the doorway, shirtless. Nobuyuki pulled him back inside before he could be seen.

She stopped in front of them, ignoring Kuroo completely and greeting Kenma. "Let's get going, or else we're going to miss the train."

"Who is she?" Kuroo asked as she began pulling Kenma with her.

"A…a friend. See you later, Kuro," Kenma said. He found his footing and turned to walk beside her. She laughed as he spoke, as if he told a joke. There was no way Kenma would joke around with anyone so easily.

"Well, well. Kenma's got a girlfriend," Yamamoto declared. He was still shirtless, his arms folded against his chest. Yaku threw a shirt at him and ordered him to put it on. "What d'ya think of that, Kuroo-san?"

"A friend doesn't mean girlfriend, Yamamoto," Yaku told him. He glanced up at their captain. "Come on, let's go. You might even see him on the train if we hurry."

Kuroo was still for a few seconds. He broke out of his reverie by shaking himself, lifting a shoulder in a half shrug. A familiar smirk was on his face. "Wouldn't want to interrupt them, Yaku. Let them have their fun. I'll see him on the way tomorrow for morning practice."

Yaku and Nobuyuki exchanged glances. Kuroo had brushed off Kenma's early departures like it was nothing for the first few times but this time he actually looked upset. Maybe he was feeling betrayed because Kenma had never told him about his new friend who happened to be a girl. It was unusual he for him not to know anything about them.

The next morning, Kuroo hurried down his usual route to school hoping to see Kenma along the way. He had stopped by his house earlier to pick him up but his mother had told him Kenma had left already and why wasn't he with him? Kuroo didn't have an answer for her.

Kenma was up ahead, his head bowed and eyes glued to his phone screen. Kuroo caught up to him, glancing over at his screen, noticing a long string of text messages. He knew he texted the shrimp middle blocker from Karasuno from time to time but judging by the quality of the texts, it was someone else. "Are those from your friend?" he asked, startling Kenma. He raised his head briefly to look at him before looking back down again.

"Yeah…there's a midnight release for a game this week and I was going to go with her…but she can't make it. So…I'll have to go by myself…" Kenma mumbled.

Kuroo grinned. This was the perfect opportunity. "I'll go with you."

"Really?" Kenma's voice rose slightly in surprise. His neutral expression actually looked happy for a second. "It's only one copy per person, so…you can buy a copy and I can give it to her. She'll pay you back."

"What if I want to play the game?" Kuroo frowned. Kenma going out for a midnight release was common, but Kenma going to a midnight release with someone else? Not common at all. It was even more uncommon for him to mention someone else who played games like him.

"You don't play games."

"But what if I want to?"

"You don't own the system."

"I'll buy it."

"You said it was a waste of money. You said you'd rather buy new court shoes."

Kuroo shook his head at himself. Kenma was right on that point. There was no other way he could fool him. "What day is the release on?"

"Sunday." There was evening practice on Saturday so there was roughly six hours afterwards for him to go home, eat, change, and head out for the release. Kuroo's mind was whirling with a plan.

"Sunday, huh? So after practice, we're going to head back and then go out again?"

Kenma nodded. "I guess. Sure."

They arrived at the gym after changing into their shorts and T-shirts. Kenma walked over to the equipment room to help Yamamoto set up the net, Kuroo following slowly behind him, waiting for the moment when Coach Nekomata entered the gym. When he finally did, Kuroo intercepted him. "Good morning, Coach! Can I talk to you about something?"

Nekomata raised an eyebrow in his direction but stepped back outside to hear what his captain has to say. Kuroo had odd requests from time to time and this request was no different. After spending the next ten minutes persuading him, Nekomata finally agreed to it.

After practice, Kenma hurried out of the club room to hurry to class, the other first-years following after him. Yamamoto, always tardy no matter the situation, took his time knotting his tie, eavesdropping on the third-years as Kuroo explained what he was planning.

"Why do you always go to extreme heights in getting what you want?" Yaku asked once Kuroo finished talking. "I think it's a good thing Kenma has another friend. You shouldn't be jealous."

"I'm not jealous," Kuroo insisted immediately. The other third-years shared glances and a nod. He was definitely jealous. "We need the practice anyway."

"Practice until _midnight_? Kenma would notice something is wrong for sure," Nobuyuki pointed out.

"Then it's our job to make sure he doesn't notice."

"Kenma notices everything."

"He'll be busy trying to sync up with the first-years. Don't worry about it. So long he doesn't remember then we've done our job."

Yaku slung his bag over his shoulder. "Kenma isn't going to like this. He loves his games more than volleyball."

"Can you imagine Kenma liking volleyball? Nah. Not ever. See you guys later." Yamamoto slouched passed them, heading toward the school building.

"Well," Nobuyuki said, picking up his bag, "we don't support you doing this but we'll play along. Until you realize how awful this is to Kenma."

"Relax! It's just a prank." Kuroo grinned. It was the same grin he used whenever plotting against their opponents on the court. "No one is going to be killed. Don't worry so much."

Saturday rolled by and the day went on as usual. There was practice in the morning and classes for the day. Once it was over, the boys crowded around the locked doors of their gymnasium, a note taped onto the door, saying it was closed for cleaning until the evening. The boys exchanged looks with each other, wondering if their coach or captain had mentioned a closure to them. Meanwhile, Kenma was slowly backing away to make a clean escape.

He bumped into Kuroo on his way. No such luck. "Well, it looks like the gym is closed," he said. "It says they'll be done by the evening. That's only a few hours. Let's wait for them to finish and start practice after."

The team lounged in the club room, doing homework or fooling around with each other. Kenma knew this was an elaborate scheme concocted by Kuroo to stop him from going to the midnight release but he wasn't sure _why_ this was happening. This wasn't the first midnight release he was going to. Kuroo had agreed to go with him as well so what was the point of stopping him now? Why hold back the entire team?

When the gym was open again, the boys wasted no time in setting up the nets. It was too dark to go running so Kuroo had them practice their flying falls, Yaku giving them individual tips to improve. Kenma noticed their coaches weren't here either. Did they assume there was no practice because of the cleaning or did Kuroo have them in his pocket too?

"Line up! We're going to do receive practice," Kuroo shouted. His team hastily formed a line on the other side of the net from him and Yaku. One by one, they bumped the ball back to him for the next person to receive.

Kenma kept glancing over at the clock. Inuoka was approaching the net for a spike, missing the ball when Kenma had set it hastily. The ball bounced off the court, the first-year hurrying to retrieve it.

"Focus, Kenma! Keep practicing with Inuoka until you can toss to him," Kuroo called out. That confirmed Kenma's suspicions. Kuroo didn't want him to go. Either way, he was going to leave this gym before midnight whether or not it was the last thing he was going to do.

Practice dragged on. Not many of them were focusing on the time and eventually, neither did Kenma. He kept launching toss after toss with the occasional dump shot for Yaku to dive and try to save. Kuroo was giving the middle blockers tips, Nobuyuki was showing the other spikers the proper way to spike, and Yaku was demonstrating his flying falls again. Kenma was stuck tossing to the first-years until they were all coordinated.

Finally, Kuroo declared practice over. There was fifteen minutes until midnight. He smirked to himself, relieved that his plan had worked. His brief triumphant moment was interrupted by the door opening and closing. He turned in time to see the door close with a resound slam.

"Who just left?" Kuroo asked, approaching the other third-years. "Was it Kenma?"

"He didn't look very happy," Yaku told him. "The extra practice was needed, yes, but making him miss his release wasn't. It better not have been an important game or else he wouldn't be talking to you anymore."

"A joke is a joke. He'll get over it." Kuroo spoke the words with confidence. In the back of his mind, though, he couldn't help but think Yaku was right. Maybe he had gone a bit too far with this. Kenma didn't play more than what was necessary. This practice alone was equivalent to a whole day's worth.

Once they finished putting everything away, the team traveled together out of school grounds and then their individual routes home. Yaku said goodbye to Kuroo halfway, leaving the captain to walk to the train station on his own. He hoped Kenma was home, or at least someplace safe. Kenma would understand that what he had done was a joke. Kuroo was sure of it.

Kenma hadn't replied to any of Kuroo's messages for the rest of the weekend. When Monday came, he wasn't at morning practice so the boys had to make do without him. Afterwards, Kuroo followed Yamamoto to the second-years' classrooms in hopes of finding his friend.

He was standing in the hallway in front of his classroom with his friend who was a girl. She was saying, in a disappointed tone, "That's too bad…I really wanted to play it too. Oh, well. We can wait a while and maybe someone will sell it online."

He mumbled a response, too quiet for Kuroo to hear. She said her farewell and walked into her classroom, leaving Kenma to enter his. He stopped when Kuroo called out to him. "Kenma!" his captain and Yamamoto approached him. "You weren't here for morning practice. Everything okay?"

Both of his teammates were surprised to see the conflicting emotions on Kenma's face. Sadness, anger, disappointment, indifference- they couldn't tell which one won in the end since he turned away. "No," he mumbled. He disappeared inside and didn't respond when Kuroo called him out again.

He didn't show up for after school practice either. Inuoka bounced inside the gym, shouting, "All right! I'm going to hit more spikes today with Kenma-san!"

"Kenma isn't even here." Yamamoto shot a look at Kuroo. "Kuroo-san did something to upset him."

"Huh? Really? What did you do, Kuroo-san?" Inuoka asked. The other boys crowded around their captain as he finished off tying the net to the pole. He turned to face them, scratching the back of his head.

"Nothing…it was nothing…the gym wasn't closed on Saturday. I asked Coach to close it and put that note there so we'd practice later. There was a midnight release on Sunday, so…" he trailed off, choosing not to say anymore. The first-years exchanged confused looks with each other.

"He didn't want Kenma to buy the game because he has a _girlfriend_ ," Yamamoto drawled in a singsong tone. "And Kuroo-san was _jealous-_ hey!" he rubbed the back of his head where Yaku threw a volleyball at him.

Nobuyuki was nodding. "That's why Kuroo thought it was a good idea to trick him so he wouldn't go."

"So, what do we have to do to make Kenma-san come back to practice? Inuoka asked. "Buy the game for him?"

Silence answered his words. "Well," Kuroo said dryly, "that would've been the first thing on my to-do list except this game should be pretty hard to find since it was probably a super special edition that was only available last night." The various boys' expressions had a common thought on their faces: _No wonder Kenma isn't here today._

"Let's not practice today and look for it," Shibayama suggested. He flinched slightly when the third-years shot looks at him. "O-or…not…"

"It's worth a shot," Yaku said thoughtfully. "We owe Kenma a lot for what's he's done. Kuroo should cover the cost of it though since it's his fault this happened in the first place." Kuroo glowered at him but said nothing. He addressed the team. "Let's split up and search the game shops and wherever else they might have it. If you think someone you know might have it, that's even better. When you find it, let Kuroo know and he'll handle things from there."

The team split up into groups of twos or threes, leaving the third-years behind to form their own group. Kuroo never knew he would have to go to such lengths to buy a simple game for Kenma to ask for his forgiveness. It had to be done though. They needed a setter or else there was no team.

It took three days but Shibayama knew someone who had gone to the released and was willing to sell their extra copy their friend had gotten for almost double the original price. Kuroo had tried haggling with him but it was all or nothing. He paid the desired price grumbling.

Yamamoto and Fukunaga dragged Kenma to the club room the day after once school was over. Inside was Kuroo, the game in his bag behind him. The second-years pushed Kenma inside, the setter avoiding Kuroo's eyes. Yamamoto closed the door and leaned against it so Kenma wouldn't be able to get out. He shuffled on his feet, unable to look at his friend.

"Look, Kenma…I'm sorry about what I did. I was…I was jealous and thought not getting the game would be a funny joke to play but…it wasn't…" Kuroo scratched the back of his head, unable to look at Kenma straight in the eye either. "So…the guys helped me…find the game. Here." He reached into his bag and took it out. Kenma turned to look at it. "Consider it…please accept this as a form of an apology…"

Kenma mumbled something under his breath. Kuroo looked at him expectantly and he repeated it louder. "Were you really jealous? You made it look like you never saw a girl before."

"Well, no, just…never saw a girl being friends with you. So…yeah. Sorry."

The door slid open behind him, the boys spilling inside. "We miss you at practice!" Inuoka said. "You're the only setter for us, Kenma-san. Please come back."

"Kuroo knows what he did wrong," Yaku added. " _Right_ , Captain?" he glanced at him. Kuroo nodded.

Kenma took the game from him to examine it. He delicately slipped it into his bag. "Next week."

"What? Next week?" his teammates repeated incredulously. Kuroo stood up, a knowing smirk on his face. He had a feeling Kenma would say that. For the rest of this week, he had to play. It was a new game, after all.

"Yeah. Next week." Kenma glanced up at him. He turned and walked out of the room. "See you later. Kuro."

"We're expecting you, next week!" Kuro shouted after him. To the rest of his team, he ordered them to change and get ready for practice. They enthusiastically obliged.

When next week came, Kenma was back to sending them tosses. He never said _I forgive you_ to Kuroo but his return was evidence enough of his forgiveness. The team never spoke of the awful prank ever again either.

* * *

I feel really bad for doing this to Kenma but it worked out in the end. When I thought of this, I started writing frantically so that's why Kenma's story is up so quickly. The next part features Bokuto and will be the last chapter in this fic. Is Kuroo a nice guy in Yaku or Kenma's eyes? What do you think?

Bokuto's part will be up in two weeks' time as well. Thanks for reading!

 **Haikyuu!** **does not belong to me. I am merely a fan.**


	4. Bokuto

"Hey! What's the big deal, Kuroo? You didn't wait for us!"

Everyone in the restaurant turned when Bokuto shouted at his friend from the entrance. Behind him, Akaashi was hanging his head in annoyance, the other third-years exchanging looks, as if saying _why does this happen with us._ Kuroo ignored his greeting, simply gesturing for them to join him and his team. Bokuto cut off the restaurant manager's lecture by whooping and bouncing over to them.

It was also tradition for Nekoma to treat their captain to a birthday dinner the day before the actual occasion so they could spend it with their family or friends. Kuroo's pick was ramen and the team was gathered at the back of the restaurant, wondering if Kuroo had always intended on inviting the third-years from Fukurodani. Bokuto sat beside Kuroo, his teammates taking the rest of the empty seats. The first-years handed them their menus so they could look over the selections.

The table immediately grew louder with Bokuto's presence. Kenma sighed, wishing he could be at home to catch up on his games. He knew Kuroo would drag him along with whatever he was planning to do anyway. He didn't have to come here either, especially since he had to pay for his ramen. His mom's cooking was just fine.

A waiter came over to them, his expression annoyed. "What can I get you?"

Each of them told him what they wanted, Kuroo going last. The waiter walked toward the counter to announce to the kitchen staff what to make. Kuroo's phone started ringing and he fished it out, glancing at the screen. "I'll be back," he said, standing up. He hurried out to answer the call.

Lev seized the opportunity to ask Bokuto his question. "Bokuto-san! Do you think Kuroo-san is a nice guy?" the second years exchanged looks, surprised Lev was still hung up over that question. He already had answers from Yaku and Kenma. Kenma doubted Bokuto would give him a straight answer anyway.

"Hmmm…is Kuroo a nice guy…?" Bokuto sounded like he was at a loss. "Akaashi, what do you think?"

"I don't know. Why would I?" Akaashi replied. "You spend more time with him."

"Hmmm…well…that's a really tough question..." Bokuto folded his arms, eyes staring off into the distance as he contemplated his answer.

Konoha leaned over to Akaashi to comment, "If Bokuto thinks any harder, he might break something." Akaashi nodded in agreement.

"Oh! I know now!" Bokuto slammed his fist onto the table, making everyone's tea slosh in their cups and splash onto the table. Only Yaku's cup spilled over because Bokuto's elbow hit it. The boys reacted by snatching their napkins and chopsticks and Nobuyuki calling for a waiter to bring them a cloth.

"Ah! Sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" the waiter shot a dirty look at him as he wiped up the tea, handing extra napkins to Yaku to wipe his bag dry. "Sorry! It won't happen again!"

The waiter walked back to the counter to swap cloths. Lev was apologizing to Bokuto as well. "Sorry about that, Bokuto-san…"

"You didn't do anything wrong so you shouldn't have to apologize," Yaku told him.

"Your question though! I have an answer," Bokuto said. "Kuroo is really… _really_ …really nice!"

A brief pause followed. When he didn't elaborate, Inuoka asked, "Um…how?"

"Well." Bokuto folded his arms again to get his elbows off the table as the waiter wiped the table dry again. "There was one time when he was really nice to me so I think he's a nice guy overall..."

* * *

It was time for the summer festival again. Lanterns illuminated the festival space, vendors shouted their products to attract buyers, and game stalls attracted the second-most business after the food stalls. Girls were dressed in _yukatas_ , boys dressed in casual clothes. Bokuto was with Akaashi and Konoha, the only two boys who would go to the festival with him. The rest of his team was around somewhere, determined not to be caught by him.

"Hey, hey, hey, Kuroo! Over here! You're late!" Bokuto shouted in his boisterously loud voice. Kuroo approached him, Yaku and Nobuyuki following behind him. Bokuto noticed Kenma wasn't with them a minute later. "Huh? Where's Kenma?"

"He said he has to train so he can beat the final boss," Kuroo answered with a shrug. "So, we're here. What do you want-"

"Wow! Kenma's going to train? By himself? We should help him! Where is he? Let's go, let's go!" Bokuto was fired up at the prospect of battling a boss. Behind him, his teammates sighed.

Kuroo was grinning. He said, "You can't help him if you don't own the game. He'll be fine. Let's go. Time's wasting!"

He started shoving Bokuto toward the stalls when his friend was still riled over battling a boss and whatnot. Konoha muttered to Akaashi, "I don't even know why I'm here."

"Because you said you were free and Bokuto-san begged you to come?" Akaashi reminded him. "It's only a few hours. He has Kuroo-san to keep him busy."

"Those two do get along pretty well," Yaku agreed. "Maybe we'll have some fun."

Nobuyuki was smiling when he said, "Let's _all_ try to have fun. Do you want another fish, Yaku?" last year, Yaku had won a fish from a stall and had taken spectacular care of it. He was still upset over its death because his younger cousin flushed it down the toilet alive.

"We'll see. If Bokuto doesn't take it from me first." He started walking after his captain, the rest of them following.

The two captains were already at a game stall, a basketball-throwing stall. Kuroo was throwing first, his expression smug as he was saying to Bokuto, "I have friends on the basketball team. I'm going to get a three-pointer."

He turned to face the hoop, arms raised, and ball ready to be thrown. He snapped his wrist, sending the ball forward like a setter setting a volleyball. It rebounded off of the rim.

"Ha! I can do better than that! _I_ have friends on the basketball team too! Watch me!" Bokuto caught the ball the manager tossed to him and he readjusted his body into the right position. He threw the ball and it sunk in the hoop flawlessly. He cheered, pumped his fists in the air. "All right! Did you see that? I'm awesome! I'm better than you, Kuroo!"

He noticed Akaashi and the rest of them standing behind him. "Did you see that, Akaashi?" he gloated. "Am I awesome or what?"

"You sure are, Bokuto," Konoha said. Akaashi merely nodded, echoing his senpai.

Bokuto accepted the plush bear doll he won from the manager, goading once again to Kuroo. When he finished, Yaku patted Kuroo's shoulder. "Don't mind, Kuroo."

"We're not playing volleyball, Yaku." Kuroo had a smirk on his face. He was scheming again. "Let's play some more games, Bokuto. Let's see who'd win the most games."

"I will! Of course I will! Help me hold this, thanks!" he thrust the bear into Konoha's arms. He raced down the path, Kuroo hurrying after him.

"Why do I have to hold this?" Konoha muttered under his breath. They trailed after them.

The next game was a ring toss, which Kuroo won. His prize was a fan, which he snapped open to see the design. It suited Kenma. He considered giving it to Kenma for his birthday when it came.

"One more! Let's go!" Bokuto ran to the next stall. Kuroo sheepishly handed the fan to Nobuyuki, who accepted it with minimal grumbling.

While they were at the cork gun stall, Yaku snuck away to scoop up goldfish. He was the only high schooler there, other than the vendor. He sheepishly paid for the net and kneeled down at the tank, concentrating on the fish.

Nobuyuki was standing behind him when he received his fish swimming in its plastic bag. "Where are they now?" Yaku asked. Nobuyuki pointed at the stall across from them. It was another variation of a ring toss game. "Who won the last one?"

"Bokuto." He gestured at Konoha, who was holding two plush dolls now. Akaashi was watching the captains play, not making a comment when Bokuto lost. "I hope they have enough money for food afterwards."

"I'm pretty sure Akaashi is going to pay for Bokuto. No questions asked," Konoha remarked. Onward they went to the next game.

Out of the ten games they played, Kuroo won six and Bokuto won four. Kuroo's arms were full with his prizes while Bokuto stared at him. "There's one more game left," Kuroo said. "We might as well play that before getting food."

Bokuto's expression was akin to frustration and defeat. Akaashi exchanged looks with Konoha. Bokuto rarely showed his dejected mode outside of the court. "There's no point in playing if I can't win," he muttered.

"Come on, Bokuto. Winning isn't everything. You have to have fun too! This is a festival, right? We're supposed to have fun. Leave winning for volleyball. Lose in everything else so you can win more when you're on the court." Kuroo grinned encouragingly at him.

Bokuto was silent for a few seconds. Akaashi and Konoha braced for his dejected mode but it didn't come. Instead, he said, "That sounded so cool! Yeah! Let's lose some more!"

"Uh…" his teammates couldn't bother to correct him. Neither could the Nekoma third-years. Kuroo merely smirked and headed toward the last game stall.

He lost. _Then_ came the dejected mode. "I don't deserve any of the prizes," Bokuto was murmuring when his teammates leaned over him from where he crouched on the ground. "Kuroo won more games than me. He should take my prizes too."

"Bokuto-san, you won them. You keep them," Akaashi said. Konoha nodded, handing him his prizes.

"But…! I didn't win the last game…! Kuroo beat me fair and square!"

"Oh, get up, Bokuto. They're yours. I don't want them anyway. Actually, here." Kuroo took the prizes from his teammates, "You take them. I beat you in the games but you get to keep the prizes."

Bokuto raised his head. "Really?" Kuroo nodded. He jumped up to his feet instantly. "Thanks, Kuroo!"

"Was that just an act to get Kuroo to give him his prizes?" Yaku asked Akaashi quietly.

Akaashi shook his head. "Bokuto-san would never think of that."

"Hey! I'm hungry! Let's get some taiyaki!" Bokuto had his arms full with his prizes. He turned, noticing the gold fish in Yaku's hand. "Where did you get the goldfish from, Yaku?"

"Huh? Oh…" Yaku blinked his surprise away. Bokuto barely greeted him at all throughout the evening. "Over there…" he pointed in the general direction of the stall.

"Konoha! Help me hold these!" he dropped the prizes off with him before hurrying in the direction Yaku pointed. "Kuroo! Let's get some fish!"

Kuroo trailed after him. "Mind if you get us some taiyaki?" he called out to his teammates. "Bokuto's going to want red bean. We'll be there soon."

"Bring back a fish!" Nobuyuki shouted after him. He started walking toward the food stalls, the boys following after him.

* * *

"Kuroo-san! You're back! That took a long time, who was it?" Yamamoto asked when Kuroo sat back down in front of his ramen. Bokuto was already halfway finished through his bowl.

"Sorry. My mom called me. What'd I miss?" Kuroo noticed his napkin was completely soaked. He glanced over at Bokuto, his friend catching his eye while slurping his noodles.

"Lev asked me if you were a nice guy or not," Bokuto answered while chewing his noodles. Lev flinched when Kuroo looked at him suspiciously.

"Oh? You could've just asked me, Lev," Kuroo said. A familiar smirk was on his face. "One time, I helped Yaku be friends with the girl he liked-"

"I told him already," Yaku told him.

"I bought a video game for Kenma-"

"After making me practice until midnight," Kenma mumbled. "And he knows."

"And I gave Bokuto all my festival prizes one time," Kuroo finished. He glanced at Bokuto, who nodded in confirmation that he had told Lev his story. "Well, then. I'm a nice guy because I'm your senpai."

"Ooh, really?" Lev said. He began nodding frantically. "Is that why you were nice to them? Because you're their senpai?"

"So you really are a nice guy, Kuroo-san!" Inuoka added.

The second and third-years shared looks. Yamamoto's expression was murderous. _Like hell Kuroo-san is a_ really _nice guy._ Nobuyuki was smiling sheepishly. _They're lucky they won't learn the true extent of his niceness._ Yaku was shaking his head. _First-years. So innocent._

The next hour was spent eating their ramen before the waiter brought them their dessert: green tea _mochi_. It had been a pre-determined plan for the Nekoma boys to bring _mochi_ in place for a cake since they hadn't brought enough money to buy one. Fortunately, there was enough for everyone to have at least one.

"Happy birthday, Kuroo-san!" the first and second-years chimed in unison. The third-years joined in without using the suffix. Kenma murmured his, knowing he would have to say it again tomorrow.

As the boys departed, the Fukurodani third-years and Akaashi parted ways with them, thanking them for the meal. Kuroo waved as they walked away. "You're treating me next time, Bokuto!" he called out.

"Let's play volleyball instead!" Bokuto shouted back. "Happy birthday!"

Lev walked among the first-years, watching his captain interact with the second and third-years. The stories from Yaku, Kenma, and Bokuto had helped him figure out if Kuroo was a nice guy or not. He came up with his own answer: Kuroo was nice, but in his own way. It could come as cruel or embarrassing or provoking ways but at the end, the good deed would always be done.

* * *

Here it is, Bokuto's story! This is the last part of the fourshot. I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to leave a review or message me if you have any ideas for future stories. My last story of the year will be a Christmas college AU that includes some lovable characters and silliness. Please look out for it!

(I like to think Kuroo didn't give Bokuto the fan in the end but kept it for Kenma.)

Thank you for reading!

 **Haikyuu!** **does not belong to me. I am merely a fan.**


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